'Mr. Christmas' ready for his close-up

Movie about Leominster centenarian Louis Charpentier debuts Saturday

LEOMINSTER -- One of the first things Louis Charpentier mentioned to a visitor at lunchtime Thursday was that he will be 102 years old Dec. 10.

He has lived in Leominster since he was 12 years old and is known around the city as "Mr. Christmas" because he has been decorating his front lawn on Merriam Avenue with carved Yuletide pieces for 62 years.

A film about Charpentier's life and career in Leominster is scheduled to premier at Leominster Public Library at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Seemingly always impeccably dressed with a bow tie, Charpentier has a firm handshake, keen hearing and quick wit. He moves nimbly with only a little help from a cane.

Usually he carves a new Christmas piece each year but spent this summer repairing his creations so they look good, said his son Ernie.

He carved enough time from his schedule to make 700 Styrofoam mice to hand out to children this year.

He sits watching television and carving the mice, Ernie Charpentier said.

The film idea was originally presented to the family as a story about what it takes to put away all the Styrofoam Christmas carvings, but that was scrapped because the storage process is too cumbersome, Ernie Charpentier said.

Filmmaker Judith Lindstedt said the finished product is about the process of Charpentier's carvings, from the initial drawings through the completed project.

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She focuses much of the film on the crucifix Charpentier carved for St. Cecilia Church.

Charpentier's Styrofoam and woodcarvings adorn homes, offices and buildings around the city, including the Leominster Public Library.

There was a special showing of many of Charpentier's pieces at the Veterans Center on West Street for his 100th birthday that required the local moving company, Hartman Relocation Services, to transport from his home.

"I grew up with this, so I don't always realize, but it took up the entire Veterans Center," Ernie Charpentier said. "This was impressive to me also."

There is also a hardcover book of pictures Ernie Charpentier had published showing his father's work that is available in the library. Photos were taken by James McKnight and Ray Wallace.

Lindstedt said she did her first interview with Charpentier in 2010 and after several more talks finished editing the movie for her ZZ Productions Tuesday.

She was focused on the Styrofoam carvings at first because those are what Charpentier is best known for, but then she was attracted to his woodcarvings and specifically the process he goes through to design and create.

Many of Charpentier's woodcarvings are reflective of his youth in Saint Claude, Canada, which had only 800 people, Lindstedt said.

"He never called it a town. He called it a farm," she said.

The carvings often tell a story such as a trip with a neighbor to midnight Mass in St. Claude.

"It's very interesting how the artwork is woven into his life," Lindstedt said.

Charpentier loves to tell stories, too.

He told Lindstedt of leaving Canada so his father could find work in Leominster when he was 12 years old.

Charpentier went to work for Foster Grant, earning 18 cents an hour, then at a comb factory for 25 cents an hour.

He was a lead designer for Commonwealth Plastics, then Paragon Plastics, before retiring after 47 years on the job.

Like other artists, Charpentier's enthusiasm and zest for life keeps him going, Lindstedt said.

She also made a film about eight years ago about New York City artist Theresa Bernstein living at her summer home in Gloucester. She continued to paint even though she was 106 years old.

"People poo-poo the arts, but the arts are really what sustains one throughout their lifetime," Lindstedt said.

Lindstedt has a show, "An Uncommon View," that airs on FATV and LATV. She is a retired professional dancer and worked for then-Fitchburg State College in administration.

She is a horse masseuse now at Mesa Farm in Rutland, Vt., which she includes in the film because the horses Gypsy and Ginger are 32 and 31 years old, respectively, but still young at heart.

The film took about 150 hours to edit after research and interviews.

It is 57 minutes long and features Lindstedt as well as Helen Obermeyer Simmons interviewing Charpentier.

Lindstedt's next project is expected to feature Don Featherstone, who created the pink flamingo at the former Union Products in Leominster.

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